2024-03-29T12:30:21-07:00 2023-12-31 990 2023-01-01 522005066 PATUXENT TIDEWATER LAND TR PATU 3018623421 P O Box 1955 Leonardtown MD 20650 Ann Barnes Treasurer 3012477747 2024-03-11 Ann Barnes 999009999 1 1 11 1 AAL2 2023 2023-04-26 12:10:37Z Frank Allen 18988 Point Lookout Road Lexington Park MD 20653 1921704 0 X www.ptlt.org X 1996 MD Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust (PTLT) preserves rural lands for current and future generations through conservation easements and environmental stewardship. In 2023 we added easements on 183.5 acres of land bringing our protected total to 6461.5 acres. (See Schedule O) 9 9 1 50 0 0 648549 1840382 0 0 35 78087 0 3235 648584 1921704 0 0 0 0 0 54021 0 0 8463 617427 256751 617427 310772 31157 1610932 419372 2034738 254 4688 419118 2030050 Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust preserves rural lands for current and future generations through conservation easements, monitoring activities, and environmental stewardship. 0 0 279172 245383 0 Easement Acquisition: PTLT continued to acquire new easements to protect property in Southern Maryland in perpetuity. Four new easements were established in 2023 protecting 183.52 additional acres of land and bringing our total land protected to 6461.5 acres. One of these easements was funded strictly with grants from the State of Maryland's Rural Legacy (RL) Program and from St. Mary's County. Two of the easements used funding from the RL Program and the Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program. The final easement was a landowner donation and is strictly a forest conservation easement. Historic Saint Mary's City needed to relocate their sailing program. To make this possible, tree clearing was necessary within the critical zone where regulations are stringent. This means that a grove of trees must be planted - and maintained - nearby on the waterfront as mitigation. A neighbor, and friend of HSMC generously offered to plant such a grove, and to maintain it. PTLT is responsible to ensure that the grove planting meets regulations and is preserved forever. PTLT continued working with landowners to place easements on properties within the Huntersville Rural Legacy Area in mid St. Mary's County Maryland. A 413 acre property scheduled to close in December 2023 actually closed in February 2024. 0 0 0 Easement Monitoring: For the ninth year in a row, PTLT has accomplished 100% of its property monitoring requirements during the cold season monitoring period. PTLT uses an all-volunteer team of monitors under the oversight of a volunteer Monitoring Coordinator. This group identifies and evaluates potential issues on existing easements and completes, files, and distributes monitoring reports for each property. These reports are submitted to the easement co-holders and sponsors. This labor-intensive effort, while not consuming significant funding, is critical to ensuring that the conservation value of the properties is maintained and no easement violations occur. The Maryland Rural Legacy program grants PTLT funds to monitor properties for which they are co-holders. 2728 0 0 Easement Compliance: Due in part to our thorough monitoring program, PTLT has had few easement compliance issues and tries hard to resolve these amicably with landowners. Our volunteer board members investigate, document, and resolve each issue. PTLT holds reserve funds in an endowment account and holds insurance to address any violations that would require legal or technical expertise. PTLT continues to follow up with landowners on potential easement issues to help them address emerging problems in a timely manner. PTLT has adopted a new policy of requiring easement properties to be free of dumping prior to closing. This ensures our monitors can spot dumping changes on the properties easier. As part of easement compliance, PTLT is also keeping notes on inland erosion which has become an increasing issue in the Huntersville area after Hurricane Isaias in 2020. Examples of compliance issues that have been successfully addressed are vegetative buffer restoration, erosion remediation, and removal of material in violation of dumping restrictions. 0 0 0 281900 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 MD X X Ann Barnes 2404348510 P O Box 1955 Leonardtown MD 20650 Abigail Greenwell Easement Manager 40 X X 45000 0 0 Frank Allen Trustee and President 25 0 X X 0 0 0 Robert Willey Trustee and Vice President 10 0 X X 0 0 0 Sarah Houde Trustee and Secretary 5 0 X X 0 0 0 Robert Prine Trustee and Treasurer 15 0 X X 0 0 0 Ann Barnes Trustee and Treasurer 10 0 X X 0 0 0 Karen Abrams Trustee 2 0 X 0 0 0 Fabio Galli Trustee 1 0 X 0 0 0 Diep Nguyen-van Houtte Trustee 1 0 X 0 0 0 Peter Neus Trustee 2 0 X 0 0 0 45000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1817859 22523 0 1840382 0 78087 78087 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3235 0 0 3235 0 3235 0 1921704 78087 0 3235 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50000 31274 13551 5175 4021 2515 1090 416 2461 2461 147 147 226 226 1603 1603 343 343 3716 2728 988 Easement Acquisition 245383 245383 0 0 Fundraising 2872 0 0 2872 310772 281900 20409 8463 X 0 114423 1631100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 304949 403638 0 0 0 0 419372 2034738 254 4688 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 254 4688 X 37130 207756 381988 1822294 419118 2030050 419372 2034738 1610932 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 X 392894 1074625 516545 648549 1843617 4476230 392894 1074625 516545 648549 1843617 4476230 4476230 121 47 25 35 78087 78315 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4554545 0.98281 0.99983 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED X X X X 51 6461.5 0 0 0 1 1 420 2728 1 304949 44984 53705 0 0 0 403638 350547 0 -45598 0 0 0 304949 286114 50000 14433 0 0 0 350547 262416 34000 -8839 0 0 0 287577 227123 0 41447 0 0 0 268570 0.06 0 0.94 0 0 Schedule D, Part II, Line 5 The Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust policies and practices comply with Maryland requirements and Land Trust Alliance policies to inspect all easement properties annually. PTLT maintains and distributes a virtual handbook and training materials for use by monitors and mentors. Periodic training sessions are conducted. A board member serves as the Monitoring Coordinator with the responsibilities of 1) recruiting and training volunteer monitors, 2) being available to monitors as questions arise, 3) ensuring that each easement property has an assigned monitor and is visited annually, and 4) providing the monitors with feedback and any updates to requirements. PTLT monitor processes cover how to report and resolve easement compliance issues. When particular challenges arise, the Monitor Coordinator will bring them to the attention of the board for additional assistance as needed. Schedule D, Part II, Line 9 Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust records all easement income with date received, source, purpose, and date expended. Revenue is expensed in strict accordance with its specified purpose as stated in formal agreements with participants. Revenue and expenses are identified by project in the income and expense reports and all endowment funds received are held in a separate account. Endowment funds appear on the balance sheet as temporarily restricted net assets. Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust controls the endowment account such that it must be used for the purpose of administering, monitoring, and enforcing the specific easements acquired with Rural Legacy and other Sponsors who provide restricted funding. The easement values are not recorded as either assets or equity. Schedule D, Part V, Line 4 The funds are for stewardship and defense of potential violations to conservation easements held by this organization. For those easements sponsored by the Maryland Rural Legacy Program and held by the organization, all expenditures require the approval of the Maryland Rural Legacy board.. PTLT also holds stewardship for an easement sponsored by the Maryland Program Open Space office. The remaining endowment is held for easement compliance purposes for donated easements held by PTLT. Form 990, Part I, Line 1 The primary mission of PTLT is to place land under conservation easement and to connect people to the land. A conservation easement is a legally binding agreement that protects the land from changes that would adversely affect its conservation value, such as subdivision and development. The owner retains the land while relinquishing specific rights to alter it. These deeds limit the number of residences permitted and impose further land protection requirements such as forested buffers along streams, wetlands, and shorelines around the Chesapeake Bay; protection of soils through enforcement of soil conservation plans; limits on impervious coverage; and dumping exclusions. A property held in this way may be transferred and sold. However, the subsequent owners are bound by the easement restrictions. Easements are purchased from or donated by owners who want to protect the property from development in perpetuity. PTLT monitors each property with an on-site visit to ensure compliance. PTLT also raises awareness among land owners and the general public about the importance of conservation in their communities. We provide educational materials and press releases about land preservation and sustainability. We issue press releases when new easements are acquired. We hold public vine and invasive plant removal workdays in local publicly owned forestlands to promote education, involve community members, and improve forest value. Our work conserves rich agricultural, forested, and scenic attributes of Maryland to support the collective benefit of healthy watersheds, productive farms, and thriving wildlife. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b Form 990 and related schedules are prepared by the treasurer and submitted to the officers for review and then to the full board for approval. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 12c PTLT has a Conflict of Interest policy document and all trustees are required to review this annually to reaffirm / make any needed updates. PTLT had one employee in 2023 who was also required to sign a Conflict of Interest document. Each easement acquisition has a step which considers conflict of interest in the process. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 Policies and processes are made available upon request. The mission of the organization and a list of trustees and officers are on the PTLT web site. Inputs and inquiries are invited through the web site. News items and activities are shared through the web site and a periodic newsletter published to volunteers and friends. Form 990, Part IX, Line 5 Differs from Part VII (D) due to actual payroll date of 1/1/2024 Form 990, Part X, Line 2 Unusually high balance at end of year is due to receipt of Rural Legacy funding from DNR for the 413 acre easement in 2023, with closing not occurring until 2024.